Sensorimotor Stage
Birth to 2.
2 to 7.
At what ages does the preoperational stage take place?
7 to 11.
At what ages does the concrete operational stage take place?
11+
At what age does the formal operations stage begin?
Children use their senses and movement to solve sensorimotor problems, such as finding hidden toys.
How do children "think" during the sensorimotor stage?
Children use symbols to represent their sensorimotor discoveries.
How to children build on their sensorimotor stage during the preoperational stage?
At this time, children’s reasoning becomes more logical and better organized.
What happens during the concrete operational stage?
Start with a hypothesis, make inferences, test variables, and evaluate results.
What is the scientific method?
Children begin to engage in intentional behaviour, such as using goal-directed behaviour to solve problems.
How do children solve problems at this stage?
Children's inability to understand that there is a perspective other than their own.
What is egocentrism?
Conservation.
What task are children finally able to understand at this stage?
Children develop the capacity for abstract thought.
What can children now do that they unable to do so at the formal operational stage?
Children make A-not-B search errors, in which they search for objects in their initial hiding place, despite seeing them be moved to a different location.
What is a limitation of children's object permanence?
Centration is children's tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation.
Why would children struggle with conservation tasks?
Children's logic only extends to concrete information and so they are still unable to deal with abstract thought.
What is a limitation of children's cognitive development at this stage?
The development of systematic thought follows children into adolescence and adulthood.
How "long" does the formal operations stage last?